Adventurer Dave Cornthwaite swam 1,000 miles down the Missouri River. The expedition is just one of 25 adventures in which he will travel the distance of 1,000 miles for the project “Expedition 1000”. (photo by William Albert Allard)

Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend.

Please check listings near you to find the best way to listen to National Geographic Weekend, or pick your favorite segments and listen now below!

Episode: 1316 – Air Date: April 21

HOUR 1

Running up to 140 miles each week isn’t something most lawyers have the time, or desire, to pursue. Adam Campbell explains why he quit his comfortable job as an attorney for the discomfort of professionally running ultramarathons – races longer than marathons that can be over 100 miles long. Campbell shares the intense physical and emotional effects from running such distances – all captured in Silence, the film about his passion for the sport. Listen here.

Following the second half of his interview with Campbell, Boyd talks with another extreme athlete, Garrett Grove, whose back-country skiing adventures in Japan took him through untouched areas of the country. Listen here.

Sea turtles have survived for centuries, but humans have brought them to the brink of extinction in places like Nicaragua, where poachers sell the eggs to support their families. Biologist and National Geographic Emerging ExplorerJose Urteaga tells Boyd how offering other opportunities for Nicaraguans has stopped more than 90 percent of turtle egg harvest. Listen here.

Many more sharks are killed by humans each year than there are people killed by the intimidating sea creatures, but our fascination of their terrifying nature won’t likely end soon. Bucky McMahon describes how sharks actually seem to target surfers near an island off the east coast of Africa, the subject of his article for GQ: Heart of Sharkness. Listen here.

David Braun, editor of National Geographic’s Daily News, says scientists learned that roosters have an internal alarm clock that gives them the urge to wake everyone up in the early morning hours, but that clock can change when roosters are exposed to more hours of light. Listen here.

HOUR 2

Many of us lose track of our New Year’s resolutions or personal goals, but Boyd catches up with one adventurer who is sticking to his mission to do 25 adventures of one thousand miles or more, using a different form of human-powered transportation each time. Dave Cornthwaite shares one of his latest expeditions for Expedtion 1000 – swimming 1,000 miles down the Missouri River. Listen here.

With our never-ending to-do lists and dependence upon smartphones, the Western world has difficulty living in the moment. National Geographic Young ExplorerMax Lowe set out to find if Western influences have reached as far as the Himalayas and shares how our distractions are spreading across the globe. Listen here.

Adam Goodheart writes about Delaware, America’s “first state” in the April 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. He shares with Boyd the rich, but largely unknown, history of Delaware’s Brandywine River. Listen here.

Boyd takes us on a road trip to Africa with Louis Liebenberg, a persistence hunter who describes what it’s like chasing kudus, until one of them literally drops dead. Listen here.

In this week’s Wild Chronicles segment, Boyd laments his old passport and how the experience of getting a new one brought back a frightening moment from his travels over the previous 10 years. Listen here.

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